


Melting Ice cream at three am

by Maura_Moo



Series: Newsies tumblr fic dump [5]
Category: Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Adolescent Sexuality, Aged Down Characters, Angst and Fluff, Bisexual Disaster Jack Kelly, Deaf Racetrack Higgins, F/F, F/M, Good brother Racetrack Higgins, Mentioned Jack Kelly, Minor Sarah Jacobs/Katherine Plumber Pulitzer, Not Beta Read, Platonic Soulmates, Racetrack Higgins and Jack Kelly Are Like Siblings, Sexuality Crisis, Slightly - Freeform, Song fic, Song: She (Dodie), We Die Like Men, cora Higgins & Racetrack Higgins are siblings, cora is my best creation, pansexual Cora Higgins, race and cora live alone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-13 10:46:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29525226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maura_Moo/pseuds/Maura_Moo
Summary: Friends don’t think about other friends in that way.Friends dont linger on their feelings.
Relationships: David Jacobs/Original Female Character(s), Sarah Jacobs/Katherine Plumber Pulitzer
Series: Newsies tumblr fic dump [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2168985





	Melting Ice cream at three am

**I’d never tell**   
**No, I’d never say a word**

The sudden flash of blinding light startled Race out of his sleep. Tired blue eyes fluttered open and blinked at the blured numbers on his clock. Why the hell was someone in the kitchen at 3:45 in the morning? With a sigh, he pushed himself up, snatching his hearing aids from their case. 

The mechanical voice allows the world to crackle into hearing, he focuses on the traffic outside as he pulls himself out of bed and down the stairs. “Cora?” he whispers, pushing her bedroom door open. Panic sends a cold shiver through him when he see’s her bed empty. Where the fuck is his sister? 

He scans the upper floor quickly, the bathroom door is still open, nobody has used it since they had cleaned their teeth four hours ago. There’s a dull thud downstairs and Race whirls around, grabbing ahold of the banister to stop himself from falling down the stairs. That’s when he notices the kitchen light is on, a shadow dancing across the hallway walls. He recognises the hunched shoulders, the shadowed strands of hair barely visible in the low light. 

He takes the stairs two at a time, barefeet tredding careful as he does so, not wanting to fall and startle her or hurt himself for that matter. At the bottom, he stares dumbfounded at his little sister.

He watches Cora pace, a tub of cookie dough ice cream cupped between her shaking hands and a plastic spoon hanging from the corner of her chewed lips. From the doorframe, he traces the thin trail of blood running down her face and dripping into the white of her nightshirt. 

“Sorellina?” His voice was soft, hands outstreched to catch his little sister as she fell into his arms, a sobbing mess. He blinked slowly as he hugs her close, ignoring the ice cream tub pressed against his chest. “Whats wrong?” 

“I-…Kathy- I-Davey…I!” She pulls away, rubbing the back of her hand across her face. “I-” Tiredness had drained her body and she pulls herself out of Race’s arms and finds comfort on the cold tiles. She pulls her legs up to her chest and sighs, pressing her chin against her knees. “Its nothin’ Racer. Jus a nightmare.” 

“Cora y-ya sure?” 

He sighs when she nods, turning her face away from the door. She waits until her brother leaves, the door creaking closed behind him. 

Cora sits in silence for a little while before letting her legs fall flat in front of her. Dainty fingers twirled the cross around her fingers, the chain tightning around her throat before releasing. She couldn’t feel this way about Katherine, she couldn’t look at her like she was the moon, she couldn’t mention that she saw stars in her eyes, the dark browns pools that stood strong like the branches of an oak tree. Her smile, bright and inviting, hidden under layers of blood red lipstick. Her tight hugs and soft voice. 

Cora lingered on the way her stomach felt whenever Katherine took her hand. She lingered on the glimmer she saw in her eyes…

The glimmer she had whenever she looked at Sarah.

Cora sighs, leaving the ice cream melting on the counter. 

As she burries herself back into bed, she stares at the wall and thinks of David. The blueness of his eyes and the warmth of his smile. The tightness of his hugs and the comfort his heartbeat brings her. She wonders what it would be like to lay in his arms, pressing cold hands against the small of his back. Would he laugh? Squeal and pull her closer? She sighs softly, letting her eyes drift closed.

Friends don’t think about other friends in that way. 

Friends dont linger on their feelings. 

Fresh tears brew behind her closed eyelids and Cora clamps down on her bottom lip agian, teeth sinking into the flesh, she’ll hate herself for this tomorrow. She’ll yell at herself as she changes pillow cases and scrubs long-since dried blood off her cheek. 

But thats tomorrow Cora’s problem. 

Today Cora’s problem is feelings. 

She has feelings for Katherine. 

Just the thought of running her hands through her ginger hair makes her skin shiver. She remembers seeing Katherine cry, in drama class. How the black mascara ran down her cheeks, how it stained her face for the rest of the day. Cora told her she looked like a panda and Katherine had laughed. It made Cora happy. 

She has feelings for Davey too. The feeling of him slowly sliding his hand into her’s was something magical. It made sparks fly through her like someone had lit fireworks in her stomach. His smile was unmistakeable and his laugh was a sound that Cora wished she could loop in her mind forever. She remembers Jack grabbing her out of science class once, eyes frantic and mouth fast as he rambled, dragging her through the corridors before pointing at Davey. She remembered watching his hands shake and eyes dart anxiously around the room, him being too scared to linger on something for more than a few seconds. She had sat with him, voice gentle and movements flowly. He had laid his head in the crook of her neck. She remembered how warm he felt. How right it felt for him to be in her arms. 

How right it felt for her to be held back. 

**And she smells like lemongrass and sleep**   
**He tastes like apple juice and peach**

The school day whirled around quickly. Another week of lessons, another week of teachers droaning on in dark tones about calculus and iambic pentamitor and another week of adding drawings of Jack asleep in buisness to her sketchbook.

It’s theatre where she really feels free. Cora can pretend like she understands. Everything is written out in front of her in neatly printed print. She can study a character and learn what drives them. The characters she got given didnt need to lay awake and think about what they need to do. They already know. 

They know and she soaks it into herself; It’s easier for her to be anyone else bar Cora Josephine Higgins. 

The class is outside, lazing beween strands of tall grass, scripts restings against trees or the floor or each other. Cora sits away from the group, script balanced on her thighs, head resting against Katherines knee. She picks at the buttercups around them, cheeks red and nose sore. “ya can go insi-” 

“Sarah!” Katherine shifts Cora off her lap and she watches the redhead wander off. She sighs, ignoring the pangs of her heart breaking as Katherine and Sarah disappear into the classroom hand-in-hand. 

Suddenly the buttercups are making Cora feel sick, she closes her script and stands. Theres almost a feeling of bitterness as she stares at her classmates, all snuggled into pairs or threes, blissfully unaware of the heartbreak in her eyes. 

Jack looks up from his notebook and they make eye contact. His lips press together in worry and Cora just shakes her head, biting down on her tongue to stop the tears. Even the sun seems to be staring down at her with concern, it blinds her eyes and Jack blurrs in front of her. 

Cora steps off the grass and disappers into an alleyway. Her fingers brush against the brickwork and the roughness comforts her. She presses her face against it as she sits down, the only comfort she has now. She’s never been alone. 

Her tears stain her face and she watches them fade into the cracks in the pavement, a bittersweet smile on her chapped lips.

“At least I’m watering the daises.” She whispers, picking one and twirling the flower in her thumb and forefinger. 

She longs to forget the weird feeling she has in her stomach. She knew she was never going to get Katherine, so why did it hurt?

Why did it feel like Katherine had punched her when she left her alone to sit inside with Sarah? 

Why did seeing them hand in hand make her feel sick?

She knews why. 

Love is a stupid thing; it turns friends against friends, breaks apart partnerships. Cora swears she’ll never linger on love again. She promises the daisies and the bricks that. 

She promises herself that. 

Davey joins her in the alleyway long after class is over. He kneels in front of her, peering at her through thick-rimmed glasses. He’s smiling and Cora sighs internally. She loves his smile, how it makes her own lips twitch upwards until joy flashes through her system. 

The happiness Davey gives her is like a drug and she hates how quickly he got her addicted to seeing him smile. 

“Whatcha doin?” He asks, cupping her face in his hand. She hasnt noticed the last stray tears clinging to her cheeks. His thumb brushes them away and leaves behind the steaks of a blush. 

“I makes flower crowns whenever I’m sad” She explains, rocking forwards on to her knees. “It makes me feel betta.” 

“Can I have one?” He asks, chuckling as she leans closer and lowers one onto his head. She mumbles as she does so and his eyes flick down to her lips. The trace of lipstick still clings to the scarred skin, he wonders how she’d react if he closed the space. If he leaned forwards and pressed his lips against hers. 

She picks up on the traces of mint on his breath, the feeling of his hair brushing against her fingers, the sound of birdsong and leaves rustling in the breeze. The feeling of his lips agianst hers. 

Everything pauses. Its just them. Cora pulls back, hands pressing agianst her lips. Did that happen? Her face explodes into a wild blush and her fists press into her cheeks, trying to break the redness of her face. 

Davey looks sad and than panicked and than tears brew like raindrops. The smile falls and Cora feels her heart shatter. 

“I-I’m sorry! I-I uhm! I didnt mean too! Fuck! Y-you just looked so pretty w-with the wind in your hair a-and you were so close a-and I panicked” His hands tug into his lap, fingers picking at his hand. 

“David. Breathe. Look at me” Her voice is soft agian, hands holding his like they’re the most precious porceline. He blinks at her and she smiles at him. His fingers brush against her palm and she rests her forehead against his. They search each others eyes, spotting the similar sparks of shyness, timid love. 

She cupped his face, thumbs brushing away his tears. “Youse okay. Ya safe” 

**And she tastes like birthday cake and storytime and fall**   
**But to her, I taste of nothing at all**

Cora looked over as she heard laughter. It had been a month since their alleyway kiss. 

A month since Race explained to her what bisexuality is.

A month since Jack gave her his old flag.

A month since she started holding Davey’s hand when they walked home together. 

A month of him whispering “she’s my girlfriend” to his parents. 

A month since coming out to accepting friends. 

A month since spilt, joyful tears and “We love you’s” whispered over early morning coffee and waffles.

A month since she had spoken to Katherine. 

She sat awkwardly off to the side one lunchtime, listening to Katherine laugh behind them. She kept her eyes shut tight, trying to block out the colour of her voice.

Cora was happy that katherine was happy, but she still longed for the stray lipstick kisses left against her pale skin. “Jack what do I do?” 

Jack looked away from his lunch and wiped his mouth. “Well.” He started, hopefully convincing her that he knew what happening and knew how to fix it. “Ya love Davey dontcha?” He placed his hand over hers, muting any argument she could have.

“Ya look at him like he’s ya whole world Cora. Ya sing louder in choir nd act differently in theatre and..and ya sit there nd ya draw him over and over and over again in art class. Ya describe his eyes as being that one specific shade of blue that no kinda paint o’ pastle o’ pencil can grab.” His face is wet with proud tears as he kisses her forehead. 

“As soon as he appears at dis table, ya stare at him like he’s some sorta new flute peice” Race picks up where Jack had left off, hands tapping agianst his thighs. “I hear ya talk about him before ya go ta sleep, ya ask God ta look after him.” 

Cora blinks. Once. Twice. A third time before she takes a deep breath and sighs, looking over her shoulder once more as Katherine giggles, pressing a kiss to Sarah’s nose. 

What they were saying was right. She did love David. More than the world and every flower in the universe.

“Youse dont look at Kath the same way ya do Dave.” 

“I look at Davey like he’s a daisy growin in da sidewalk. Fresh nd new nd special…Like-”

“Like mel’in’ ice cream ona plastic spoon at three am” 


End file.
